Smith’s poem is composed of 10 lines—four lines short of sonnet length—of free verse. While the line length remains mostly consistent, the metrical length of the lines varies quite a bit, from the 7-syllable final line to the several 12-syllable lines. Smith’s poem isn’t structured by any traditional formal device, there is no rigid rhyme scheme or strict meter. However, like many poems composed in free verse, Smith’s “The Good Life” alludes to (and uses features from) traditional forms and metrical structures.

While the poem is not a traditional sonnet by any definition, it does model its rhetorical shape after the Shakespearian sonnet form. Like a traditional English sonnet, “The Good Life” is a single block of text, unbroken into stanzas, that sets out to make a poetic argument of sorts. The poem is written from the perspective of a single speaker who presents thoughts about a central topic or question, in this case the nature of the good life. The lines are not overly long or short, varying in length around a loose median of 10 syllables, the same as traditional sonnet pentameter (that is, verse with five poetic units of meter called “feet” per line).